May the Fourth Be With You

     This is what $50 bought me today at the local discount grocery store. I used some PC points and reduced it to $40 but still......

The coffee creamer was on special and, as you can see, I got 30% off the chicken thighs. Other than that everything was full price. The Boursin cheese was a treat to myself and was actually a little cheaper than usual due to the larger size container, 250 gms. instead of 175.

    This should do me until next Tuesday, my usual shopping day. Luckily, I still have plenty of food in my freezer to spin it out and will augment it with staples like lentils, porridge oats, raisins etc. I bake my own bread and have buns and croissants in the freezer too. I could have omitted the eggs as I still have four from last week but that's one thing I use a lot of and don't like to run out.

    I had already spent almost $20 at the local deli on some more treats for myself, smoked mackerel, Kalamata olives and my special nippy cheddar cheese. I can't imagine how people with large families manage, like my daughter who has three ever hungry teenagers!

Things Moving Along Smoothly

    The shed is virtually finished, I have paid my taxes and am still solvent! It was touch and go for a bit but my pension arrived just in time!

   I will post photos once the pool equipment is re-installed which will happen next week. Everything is going smoothly towards the pool opening on May 23rd. so the timing couldn't have been better. 

   A busy day, today. Dental checkup, x-rays and cleaning first thing and then straight to the annual meeting at the Seniors' Centre. The new executive was voted in then all attendees were treated to a pizza lunch. I guess that was the reward for attending and also ensuring there was a sufficient number of members to make up a quorum! A couple of positions went unfilled but I sat on my hands and managed to avoid volunteering for anything. Maybe someone else will be persuaded to step up.

   It's been a busy week as I was out at the theatre one night as well as my usual dance group nights, so I am happy to have a night at home. The play I attended, put on by an amateur group that my daughter is involved with, was well acted and quite funny. It's the last of the season for this particular company (Markham Little Theatre) but they have some interesting productions lined up for next season. I will definitely be attending all of them!

Tax Time

     Despite being in the midst of a strike by public service workers, we still have to get our tax returns in by the end of the month. That's just seven days off!

    I am almost done but discovered an error while copying out the good version. so had to redo all my calculations. I owe money this year and the error added another $20 to that bill. So I wasn't a happy camper for a while. Never mind, I feel better after a glass of vodka cooler and some yummy cheese and crackers.

   It has been a rather dismal weekend, cooler and rainy. Normally I would have been out on the tennis courts today but since no one is around yet to play with (one friend in the U.K. at a funeral and another still vacationing in Florida) I didn't feel the need to rush over there this morning. It will keep for another week. The official opening day is next Saturday so let's hope for better weather by then.

The Shed

     My latest project has been in the planning stage since last Fall but is finally taking shape. I have wanted a shed to enclose the pool equipment for some time, basically from when the old shed had to be junked to put in a new heater. That was three or four years ago. My son did help me install a temporary shed but it only lasted one winter and proved incompatible with the location and equipment so I had to have it removed. Luckily I found someone to buy it and dismantle it although the price was nominal. It was a good deal for them!

   The new one is being done by a professional which I should have gone with in the first place. We live and learn. Anyway, last week work started and the first stage, constructing a cement pad, was completed yesterday. Construction on the shed will begin soon. The photos loaded from latest to earliest so that's how I will take you through it!

   

This is the cement pad finished, just needs the wooden forms removed.

Waiting for the cement to be laid.

The site once the pool equipment had been removed.

The pool equipment still "in situ". Ugly, isn't it? That's why I wanted it covered. Also, the electrical outlet was not designed to be exposed to the elements. I am so excited to finally get this done!